US embassy cable - 03SANAA882

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 000882 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/23/2009 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, YM, DOMESTIC POLITICS 
SUBJECT: MARIB: ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL 
 
REF: SANAA 857 
 
Classified By: Ambassador E.J. Hull for reasons 1.5 b. and d. 
 
1.(U) Summary: As part of a USG initiative to encourage 
development and security in the underdeveloped governorates 
of Yemen, Ambassador traveled to Marib to initiate USG 
assistance in agriculture, to study cultural preservation and 
to review progress on the U.S. efforts to train and equip the 
Marib Presidential hospital. The visit took place in the 
final days of the parliamentary election campaign. According 
to Marib Governor Nassi, the Islah party could win two out of 
the three seats of the Marib district. End Summary 
 
2. (U) On April 20 and 21 Ambassador led a delegation to 
visit Marib, a conservative and tribal-dominated eastern 
governorate to sign an implementing agreement on agricultural 
projects with the Governor of Marib, visit the hospital to 
which the USG is providing 5.3 million dollars of equipment 
and training assistance, and engage in discussions regarding 
the future location of a USG-funded museum. 
 
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USG Assistance to Marib 
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3. (U) Marib Governor Abdulla Nassi welcomed Ambassador and 
signed the proposal initiating the first phase of 
agricultural assistance for irrigation, rural women's 
development, livestock management, and seed multiplication. 
The agreement also allows for the USG to bring electricity to 
an agricultural research center that will serve the 
governorates of Al-Jowf and Shabwa to develop shade and green 
houses.  Research will be conducted with the aim of 
establishing a second growing season comprised of cash crops 
for Marib and to determine ways to fight prevalent plant 
diseases. Governor Nassi asked for additional assistance in 
bringing local agricultural products to market, canning and 
preserving, irrigation, and help in establishing the mining 
industry of Marib. 
 
4. (U) Ambassador stressed that the U.S. is currently 
providing nearly USD 8 million in assistance for Marib 
residents. At the Presidential Hospital, the Ambassador 
visited with 15 of the 161 students who were all selected 
from the Marib governorate and funded by the USG to study at 
institutes throughout Yemen and return to staff the hospital. 
The building itself is paid for by ROYG oil revenue, and the 
USG is providing 5.3 million dollars for training and 
equipping the hospital. Note: Marib governorate is also where 
Yemen-Hunt has its main drilling facilities. End Note. 
 
5. (U) In an effort to encourage tourism in Marib, the 
ancient home of the Sabaen kingdom and the Queen of Sheba, 
the USG is studying a proposal to build a museum to house 
antiquities. The Ambassador visited the storage facility 
where many of the ancient artifacts are stored haphazardly on 
the governor's compound, and initiated discussion on the 
location of the museum.  (Comment: Rumors that foreign 
archeologists, including Americans, are taking artifacts out 
of Marib is a continuing source of tension. End Comment.) 
 
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Islah Permeates Marib 
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6. (U) At a dinner hosted by the Ambassador for project 
stakeholders, Governor Nassi told Ambassador that he believed 
Islah would gain one seat in the upcoming parliamentary 
elections on April 27, giving Islah two out of the three 
districts in Marib. Describing himself as a soccer referee 
who happens to favor one side, the Governor explained that 
Islah is extremely active in the local community, focusing 
their campaign on the economy and social services.  Islah's 
popularity was clearly visible: several rock formations in 
the shape of the Islah party sun symbol lined the road to 
Sanaa, on the return the delegation passed a large, loud 
convoy supporting Islah, and banners were hung on houses, 
trucks, and businesses.  Nassi described the present 
electoral system as a modern system overlaying traditional 
tribal organization and has called on tribal custom to keep 
violence down. But, Nassi added, tribal allegiances do not 
necessarily follow party lines, and many tribes were offering 
candidates in both Islah and GPC parties for the elections. 
 
7. (U) At a local primary girls' school, the Ambassador 
toured classrooms that had just received 100 of the 4,000 
school desks provided by the USG to Marib. Local officials 
told the Ambassador that some of the schools that had 
received desks had had no place for the children to sit. At 
the girls' school, Islah party literature was visible on the 
outer walls, and above the entrance a banner promised that 
Islah would provide a better future and eliminate women's 
suffering.  The curriculum appeared overly religious to 
members of the national press who commented negatively on the 
strong religious overtones in the teaching methods and signs 
on the walls. 
 
8. (U) Fanda Al-Amri, chairperson of the Union of Women and 
Child Development Association and principal of the girls' 
school where the delegation visited, gave Pol/Econoff a range 
of requests for the women of Marib.  Explaining that the 
short growing season makes it difficult for vegetables to be 
consumed year-round, she requested assistance in providing 
local women with knowledge on how to can and preserve food. 
Turning to education, she said that there is one girls' 
secondary school serving the whole district of Marib and 
often parents do not want the daughters to travel the long 
distance necessary to attend.  At the same school, she 
continued, there are no chemistry and physics teachers, which 
excludes the girls from taking national qualifying exam 
should they wish to further their education. 
 
9. (C)  Comment: The political race in Marib will be 
determined by who can demonstrate that his party can provide 
more services and reforms to serve the local population.  An 
education leader, prominent in local women's organizations, 
Al-Amri represents Islah's popularity in Marib.  She voiced 
frustrations with that Ministry of Education's inability to 
provide basic education to the girls of Marib, but also 
directly appealed for USG assistance in that area. She proves 
that despite anti-US rhetoric by some factions of Islah, her 
reason for political alignment is at least in part based on 
who she believes will help the girls of Marib. 
HULL